Wednesday, April 23

9All the nations are gathered together, and the rulers shall be assembled from among them. Who will declare these things or tell us things from the beginning? Let them bring forth their witnesses, and be proven right; and let them speak the truth.

10'You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,' says the Lord God, 'and My Servant whom I chose, that you may know and believe, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no other God, nor shall there be after Me.

11I am God, and besides Me there is no one who saves.

12I proclaimed, and I saved. I denounced foreign gods so there were none among you. You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,' says the Lord God.

13'Even from the beginning, there is no one who can deliver out of My hands; I will work, and who will reverse it?'

14Thus says the Lord God who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel: 'For your sake I will send to Babylon and arouse all who flee, and the Chaldeans shall be bound in ships.

1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, And no torture will ever touch them.

2In the eyes of the undiscerning they seemed to have died, And their departure was considered to be misfortune,

3And their passage from us to be their destruction; But they are at peace.

4For though in man's view they were punished, Their hope is full of immortality.

5Though chastened in a few things, Great kindness will be shown them, For God tested them and found them worthy of Himself.

6He tested them like gold in a furnace And accepted them as a whole burnt offering.

7In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, And they will run about like sparks through straw.

8They will judge nations and rule over peoples, And the Lord shall reign over them unto the ages.

9Those who trust in Him will understand truth, And the faithful shall continue with Him in love, Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

7But though a righteous man may die before his time, He shall be at rest.

8For old age is not honored for its length of existence, Nor measured by its number of years;

9But discernment is gray hair for mankind, And a spotless life is the maturity of old age.

10There was once a man pleasing to God and loved by Him, And while living among sinners he was taken up.

11He was caught up lest evil change his understanding Or deceit deceive his soul.

12For envy arising from lack of judgment obscures what is good, And a whirling of desire undermines an innocent heart.

13He was made perfect, For in a short time he fulfilled long years,

14For his soul was pleasing to the Lord; Therefore, He took him early from the midst of evil. Yet peoples saw this but did not understand, Nor take such a thing to heart,

15That the Lord's grace and mercy are with His elect And that He watches over His holy ones.

2For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.

3Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

4'And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

6'Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.

7But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8'Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.

9But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

10'And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

11'Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say.

12For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.'

22'Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—

23Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;

24whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.

25For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.

26Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.

27For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

28You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.'

29'Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

30Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

31he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.

32This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.

33Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.

34'For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand,

35Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.' '

36'Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.'

1Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.

2Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

3And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

4So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

5Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

6And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

7Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands.

8Then the angel said to him, 'Gird yourself and tie on your sandals'; and so he did. And he said to him, 'Put on your garment and follow me.'

9So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

10When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

11And when Peter had come to himself, he said, 'Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.'

35Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.

36And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, 'Behold the Lamb of God!'

37The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

38Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, 'What do you seek?'

39They said to Him, 'Rabbi' (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), 'where are You staying?' He said to them, 'Come and see.' They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).

40One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

41He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which is translated, the Christ).

42And he brought him to Jesus.

43Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, 'You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas' (which is translated, A Stone). The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow Me.'

44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'

46And Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'

47Philip said to him, 'Come and see.' Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!'

48Nathanael said to Him, 'How do You know me?'

49Jesus answered and said to him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!'

50Jesus answered and said to him, 'Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these.'

51And He said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.'

17These things I command you, that you love one another.

18'If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

19If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

20Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

21But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

23He who hates Me hates My Father also.

24If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.

25But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without cause.'

26'But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

27And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

1These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.

2They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.